Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-09-09
TIE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.

The Lunstic Asylum affair at Austin is 8
nasty mess. The witnesses so far exam
med have given testimony rejecting on
Dr. Dorset the superintendent, and his
statement under oath has not merded
matters much. Ii may be that the Doctor
4 IS shown his uHfitpess for the position,
the board alone must decide. II he has
been derelict, eXtravsgant, partial, or
cruel he should be dismissed at once; if
ne mas permitted his children 10 tease
and torture the unfortunate inmates Of
the asylum his punishment cannot be too
severe, but these facts should be estab-
Iished beyond all per:dventure. The
testimony SO far al this distance, is
not fattering to Dr. Dorsett. There may
be corollsry facts which will explain and
excuse the worst of it, but, while the tes-
timony is against the Doctor, the circum-
stances are all in his favor. The state in
stitutions St Austin, like the state insti-
tutious anywhere else, naturally attract
to them g crew who monOpOliZe them
and arrogate control over them. The
outside barbarian, who halls from beyond
the pale of their confederation, is not TO
be tolerated Men, like DR.. Dorsett, who
came from remote parts Of the state, are
considered lmpudent intruders, and their
downfall is at once planned and attempt
ed to DC carried out. The parasites VINO
cling to the states bounty believe
that they have vested rights in
the ohices of the country, and,
inspired by q modified species OF GUiteau-
ism, they stop short OF nothing 70 retain
their hold upon the emolumeLts and
their names on the pay rolls. The dis
bursement of funds into any other peck
cts than theirs is maddening. II they are
driven from the public crib by those in
command, they continue in the vicinity
looking through the bars, watching for e
chance to return. 1t is the curse OF office
holding that when e man once serves the
people he imsgines the people owe him &
living ever after. and he will hang around
for appointments, clerkships, and such
crumbs Is may fail from the peoples
table as he can gather. The institutions
Of the state should DE conducted prop
erly, and if any one in command deviates
from the line of duty he should be ousted
and sent away, and with him should go
the rest of begging pensioners who are
bounding every state officer that has
an appointment to make. The Augean
stable should be cleaned out and
purified every two years st least. If
the professional place hunter was dis
coursged we would hear less about cIiques
and rings around state capitals. The
people send up great wave of repre-
sentatives and officers every two years,
and out of the number thus sent, some
usually remain as wrecks cast upon the
shore to augment the number already
there living in desperate expectancy.
There is one thing settled by this investi-
cation, at least, and that is, either DR..
Dorset or horde Of hsngers-on should
go. There is not room for all. The
court OF inquiry might do worse than to
mske complete change from cellar to
garrett. DR.. Dorset is perhaps an unfit
person to superintend the asylum, but
whether or not, there are too many subal-
terms ready to testify to his disquelifcs-
tons to permit of good discipline, and
they should be replaced by others not in
the ring.